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Introduction

In this review, I'm looking at the new NETGEAR GS510TP, a feature-rich Layer 2 switch with eight copper Power over Ethernet (PoE) 10/100/1000 ports and two 1000 Mbps SFP (small form-factor pluggable) Gigabit ports. Note, the GS510TP is essentially the same as the equally-new GS110T, except the GS110T doesn't support PoE.

First, a quick overview on NETGEAR switch models. NETGEAR's website divides their products into three categories; those targeted for home use, those targeted for business use, and those targeted at service providers. The GS510TP falls into the business category. (Note, even though the GS510TP is targeted at business users, it can still be a useful switch in a home and other small network environments.)

Within NETGEAR's business products, specifically switches, they have four different lines. The four lines from highest to lowest capability are Fully Managed switches, Smart switches, ProSafe Plus switches, and Unmanaged switches. The GS510TP falls into the Smart switch line but is labeled with the ProSafe brand.

Physically, the GS510TP is housed in a metal case measuring 12.9”w x 6.65”d x 1.7”h. All the network ports are on the front of the device, as shown in the product shot above.

The NETGEAR GS510TP can be placed on a shelf, desktop, or rack mounted. It comes with adhesive rubber feet for desktop placement and brackets for rack mounting. The power supply is internal, thus it only requires a standard AC cord with no external power brick. The back of the GS510TP has the power connector and a locking cable security slot, shown below.

GS510TP Rear

The GS510TP is a PoE switch with a cooling fan, thus isn't silent. However, I was pleasantly surprised at the low noise level of this switch! The GS510TP's internal fan, even with PoE devices drawing power, is quiet. I could barely hear the hum of the GS510TP's fan over the sound of two other laptop computers nearby.

Inside

A peek inside the switch isn't too revealing, since the switch is covered by a heatsink, which I didn't remove. Citing confidentiality, NETGEAR would tell us only that the GS510TP is Broadcom-based. Appendix A in the user manual was a bit more helpful, saying it has 64 MB of RAM and 16 MB of flash.

Inspection of the devices that are not heatsinked revealed two Broadcom BCM59111 Quad Integrated IEEE 802.3at-Compliant PSE controllers supporting PoE and a Nuvoton M058LAN ARM Cortex-M0 controller running the overall switch. The switch itself is covered by a firmly-attached heatsink, so we can only guess. So our guess is the same as we had for the GS110TP, a Broadcom BCM53312.

Inside the GS510TP

The GS510TP comes with NETGEAR's Smart Control Center Utility, which I installed on a laptop. The Smart Control Center Utility provides a simple way to discover the GS510TP on your network and perform some basic configuration, such as changing the device IP, uploading or downloading configuration files or launching the device's web GUI for full configuration access.

The web GUI is where you'll configure the GS510TP. I've been using a NETGEAR GS108T as a desktop switch for some time, and found the GS510TP to have nearly identical menus as the GS108T. Tim covered the NETGEAR GS110TP a few years ago, which also shares quite a few similarities with the GS510TP. I found the GS510TP's menus a bit more sluggish than the GS108T's, but functional.

Configuration menus on the GS510TP are organized in seven menu tabs. Within each menu are two to nine configuration options. Once a configuration option is selected, additional options are available on the left side of the screen. Table 1 shows the seven menus in the far left column and the configuration options available in each menu.

Table 1: Menu summary

I am impressed with NETGEAR's software administration manual for the GS510TP. Perhaps I'm used to reading NETGEAR manuals, but I found the explanations relatively easy to understand. I also liked that the manual includes an appendix with configuration examples for VLANs, ACLs, DiffServ, 802.1x and MSTP. I often point out poor documentation and lack of examples, so kudos to NETGEAR for this inclusion!

An major omission in the GS510TP is support for IPv6. IPv6 would have been a clear differentiator between the older models it looks to be replacing. I'm surprised it was left out.

The GS510TP has a graphical device view, shown below, which provides a real time display of the ports and indicator lights, as well as a launching place for many of the port configuration menus. Port speed, STP, VLANs, PoE, and various security configuration options are all accessible by clicking on a port in the device view.